Christy gets rave reviews while on tour in Scotland

Newbridge native Christy Moore has been wowing critics as he plays to full houses on his Scotland tour.

The troubadour is playing in Hamilton, Edinburgh and Glasgow in coming days.

The former member Planxty and Moving Hearts celebrated 50 years as a full-time singer last summer and has produced 27 solo albums, from Paddy On The Road in 1969 to last year's, Lily.

Critic Richard Jones of the Metro newspaper said: "Moore is credited as breathing new life into traditional Irish music and in 2007 he was named as Ireland's greatest living musician by broadcaster RTÉ.

"His song Lisdoonvarna was included in The Penguin Book Of Irish Poetry in 2010, underlining his huge influence as a leading figure in contemporary culture."

The singer, who worked in a bank in Ireland briefly in the 1960s, has also been a political activist, protest singer and a party animal.

He turns 72 next month and is drug and alcohol free after a well-documented battle with addictions.

Jones added: "Despite now being in his sixth decade as the king of Irish roots music, Moore shows no signs of slowing down yet.

"It's already been one heck of a Voyage for the Ordinary Man with an extraordinary talent."